Fermented foods have unique functional properties imparting some health benefits to consumers due to presence of functional microorganisms, which possess probiotics properties, antimicrobial, antioxidant, peptide production, etc. Health benefits of some global fermented foods are synthesis of nutrients, prevention of cardiovascular disease, prevention of cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, allergic reactions, diabetes, among others. The present paper is aimed to review the information on some functional properties of the microorganisms associated with fermented foods and beverages, and their health-promoting benefits to consumers.

Soybeans are produced in large amounts around the world. In Asian countries, soybeans have been used mostly as a source of food, and in Western countries, they have been used as animal feed and in non-food products. However, since scientific evidence of the dietary benefits of soybeans has been published, the use of soybeans as a food ingredient has increased. In Asia, soybeans have been used in various ways on their own and also combined with fermented products to be used as seasonings or side dishes. According to some sources, the use of soybeans in Korea dates back to B.C. Currently, more research is being conducted on soybeans, and the benefits of fermented soybean products are coming to light.Fermented products are going beyond the boundaries of their use as mere side dishes, and are seeing significant increases in their use as a functional food. Kanjang (fermented soy sauce), Doenjang (fermented soybean paste), and Gochujang (fermented red pepper paste) are the most well-known fermented products in Korea. These products occupy an important place in people s daily lives as seasonings and are used in many side dishes. It has been proven through clinical studies that these products have many health benefits, such as their ability to fight cancer and diabetes, and to prevent obesity and constipation.

The antimicrobial effect of linolenic acid with or without monoglyceride (glycerol laurate or glycerol myristate) against six food-borne microorganisms was determined in broth medium. Minimum inhibitory concentration of linolenic acid on Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus was 20 and 50 ppm, respectively. The growth of B. cereus treated with linolenic acid at 10 ppm with 10 ppm monoglyceride was more inhibitory than that of linolenic acid alone, and the viable cell population was reduced 2-4 log cycles compared to that of the control. When linolenic acid was added at that level, the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration of extracellular fluid was drastically increased compared with that of the control, and the combined effect with monoglyceride was higher than that with linolenic acid alone. However, the intracellular ATP concentration decreased compared with that of the control. From these results, we concluded that linolenic acid has a strong antimicrobial activity against B. cereus and S. aureus, and that linolenic acid combined with monoglyceride showed stronger antimicrobial activity than using linolenic acid alone.

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We investigated anti-diabetic candidates and their mechanisms from the fractions of Chungkookjang (CKJ), a traditional fermented unsalted soybean, by investigating insulin signaling, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma activity and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, in vitro. Cooked soybeans (CSB) and CKJ, fermented predominantly with Bacillus subtilis, were extracted by 70% EtOH followed by an XAD-4 column chromatography with a serial mixture of solvents comprised of MeOH and water. During fermentation, the contents of isoflavonoid aglycones were elevated, and the fractions enriched with aglycones enhanced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. This increase in glucose uptake resulted from stimulating a translocation of the glucose transporter (GLUT)-4 into the plasma membrane through the phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and Akt. Especially, daidzein enriched fractions elevated insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by acting as PPAR-gamma agonist up to levels exhibited when 10 nM insulin is administered. Fractions containing small peptides with low polarity in CKJ slightly increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. The data suggest that an increase in isoflavonoid aglycones in CKJ, in comparison to CSB, enhances glucose utilization via activating insulin signaling and stimulates PPAR-gamma activity in adipocytes. In addition, CKJ contains small peptides improving glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in insulinoma cells. Overall, CKJ is superior to CSB in anti-diabetic action.

?? Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License Date of Acceptance: 21/05/2015We use five years (2009-2013) of multiwavelength Raman lidar measurements at Gwangju, South Korea (35.10?? N, 126.53?? E) for the identification of changes of optical properties of East Asian dust depending on its transport path over China. Profiles of backscatter and extinction coefficients, lidar ratios, and backscatter-related ??ngstr??m exponents (wavelength pair 355/532 nm) were measured at Gwangju. Linear particle depolarization ratios were used to identify East Asian dust layers. We used backward trajectory modeling to identify the pathway and the vertical position of dust-laden air masses over China during long-range transport. Most cases of Asian dust events can be described by the emission of dust in desert areas and subsequent transport over highly polluted regions of China. The Asian dust plumes could be categorized into two classes according to the height above ground at which these plumes were transported: (case I) the dust layers passed over China at high altitude levels (> 3 km) until arrival over Gwangju, and (case II) the Asian dust layers were transported near the surface and within the lower troposphere (< 3 km) over industrialized areas before they arrived over Gwangju. We find that the optical characteristics of these mixed Asian dust layers over Gwangju differ depending on their vertical position above ground over China and the change of height above ground during transport. The mean linear particle depolarization ratio was 0.21 ?? 0.06 (at 532 nm), the mean lidar ratios were 52 ?? 7 sr at 355 nm and 53 ?? 8 sr at 532 nm, and the mean ??ngstr??m exponent was 0.74 ?? 0.31 for case I. In contrast, plumes transported at lower altitudes (case II) showed low depolarization ratios (0.13 ?? 0.04 at 532 nm), and higher lidar ratio (63 ?? 9 sr at 355 nm and 62 ?? 8 sr at 532 nm) and ??ngstr??m exponents (0.98 ?? 0.51). These numbers show that the optical characteristics of mixed Asian plumes are more similar to optical characteristics of urban pollution. We find a decrease of the linear depolarization ratio of the mixed dust/pollution plume depending on transport time if the pollution layer traveled over China at low heights, i.e., below approximately 3 km above ground. In contrast, we do not find such a trend if the dust plumes traveled at heights above 3 km over China. We need a longer time series of lidar measurements in order to determine in a quantitative way the change of optical properties of dust with transport time

Volatile substances of Callicarpa japonica Thunb. were examined for their antibacterial activities against six foodborne microorganisms using the optical densitometer Bioscreen C. Extracts of C. japonica were obtained by simultaneous steam distillation and solvent extraction (SDE), and those extracted for 1.5 and 2.0 h at pH 6.0 strongly inhibited the growth of Bacillus cereus and Salmonella typhimurium; the content of the volatile substances of leaves at these pH levels were 543.1 and 706.7 mg/kg, respectively. All foodborne microorganisms tested were strongly inhibited by the addition of >8% (v/v) of the SDE extracts to broth medium. The major volatile components of the SDE extracts obtained at 1.5 h and pH 6.0 were gamma-caryophyllene, 1-octen-3-ol, 2-hexenal, germacrene B, and aromadendrene II, with corresponding peak areas of 44.14, 15.6, 9.86, 5.24, and 4.01%, respectively, and major antibacterial components were 1-octen-3-ol and 2-hexenal. Among the 32 materials identified as volatile flavor components, 2-hexenal, 2,4-hexadienal, 1-octen-3-ol, 2,4-heptadienal, and epiglobulol strongly inhibited microorganism growth. In particular, 2-hexenal (107.52 mg/L) and 1-octen-3-ol (678.64 mg/L) inhibited the growth of most microorganisms tested by >90%.